


Though I May Drown

by Terrie



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Atlantean!Harry Wells, M/M, On Another Earth, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 00:41:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13376466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrie/pseuds/Terrie
Summary: There is nothing softer and weaker than water,And yet there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things.For this reason there is no substitute for it. ~ Laozi





	Though I May Drown

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, I also have to give credit to Guillermo del Toro and The Shape of Water for helping to inspire this.

It’s ironic that for all he gets mocked as “the help,” Cisco’s id card lets him go anywhere. There are generals with less access than he has. No one likes lights that don’t turn on or a backed up toilet. So he swipes through secure door after secure door, walking past armed guards who stare over Cisco’s head. It’s not until he gets to the final door that any of them acknowledge him.

“Ramon.” Eddie Thawne holds out his hands for Cisco’s work orders. “Back again, huh?”

Cisco turns over the paperwork. “Fast, cheap or done right. You only get two. And they’re not interested in giving me more than the minimal time and money.”

“That’s the Brass for you.” There’s a clanging sound from behind the door. Thawne’s gaze darts backwards. He returns Cisco’s paperwork without even looking at it. “You ever wonder if that thing is behind all the issues? Like, it’s breaking stuff on purpose?”

“It would have to get out to do that. And if it could get out, do you really think it would spend its time breaking the plumbing?”

“I guess not.” Thawne swipes his card, careful to stand to the side of the doorway when he does so. He’s been assigned to this post for months, but Cisco has never seen him step through the door. Wuss.

The staff don’t want Cisco interrupting their work with the Prisoner – Cisco can hear the capital P when they say it – so he has to come after hours. So it’s no surprise when everyone has left for the day. It doesn’t matter. Cisco knows his way around.

He drums his fingers along the wall of the tank as he works his way to the pipes along the back side. He has a pretty good idea of what the issue is. He’d seen the start of it the last time he was working here, but everyone told him to leave it until the possible problem turned into an actual problem. He finds the steadily expanding pool of water exactly where he expects to, a few raggedy towels, long past soaked, piled in the middle of it.

Cisco sighs. What other response can he give? He heads to the supply closet for his tools and a mop. He's trying to find the key for the lock – no fancy electronic locks for Cisco’s stuff – when cold water splashes across his back. He lets loose a high-pitched squeak that makes him glad the security cameras don’t pick up sound.

“Seriously, Harry?” He turns to find the Atlantean resting on the edge of the tank. Harry smiles, showing too many teeth for a human, all of them sharp-edged.

“You’re going to get wet anyway.”

“But I’m not wet yet. Or at least I wasn’t.” He steps up onto the ledge surrounding the tank, trails his fingers in the water. If anyone saw him right now, he’d be on trial for treason. But Cisco is the one they call in to maintain the security cameras and he knows every blind spot. No one can see either of them.

Harry leans back, floating with only a single hand gripping the edge of his prison and keeping him from drifting away. Cisco ignores the chains with the ease of long practice, but it’s harder to look past the marks on Harry’s chest. “Those look bad.”

Harry stills. For a moment, Cisco thinks he’s going to sink beneath the water, ending the conversation as only he can. Instead, he gives a liquid shrug. “The general came by today.”

“And you told him nothing.” Harry just blinks, his third eyelid flicking across his gaze. “Harry, if you don’t give him something to work with, Eiling’s going to decide you’re not worth the trouble of keeping alive.”

“And if I tell him what he wants to hear, he’ll what? Let me go out of the goodness of his heart?” He draws close again, takes Cisco’s hand in his own webbed one. “We both know how my story ends, Cisco. It’s not about my survival. It’s about holding on as long as I can to spare whoever comes after me as much as possible.”

“You can’t know that another–”

“They left their names,” Harry interrupts him. “The ones who came before. They carved them into the wall of the tank. I’ve already added my own to the list.”

And what can Cisco say in response? Because Harry’s not wrong. There’s even a routine to cleaning the tank and prepping it for the next inhabitant. Eventually, someone will hand Cisco the work order telling him it’s time to go through all that again. That’s what will happen. Cisco grips Harry’s hand in his own. That’s what will happen, unless Cisco does something to change it.

**Author's Note:**

> When I posted this on Tumblr, I had a couple people ask if this would be part of a bigger story. As much as part of me wants to write that, this is a pretty dark world, and I don't have it in me for something like that right now. But please enjoy this glimpse of another Earth.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Though I May Drown [podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14060418) by [KD reads (KDHeart)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KDHeart/pseuds/KD%20reads)




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